elasticsearch/x-pack/docs/en/security/configuring-es.asciidoc

[role="xpack"]
[[configuring-security]]
== Configuring security in {es}
++++
<titleabbrev>Configuring security</titleabbrev>
++++

The {es} {security-features} enable you to easily secure a cluster. You can
password-protect your data as well as implement more advanced security measures
such as encrypting communications, role-based access control, IP filtering, and
auditing. For more information, see
<<elasticsearch-security>>.

. Verify that you are using a license that includes the specific
{security-features} you want.
+
--
For more information, see https://www.elastic.co/subscriptions and
{stack-ov}/license-management.html[License management].
--

. Verify that the `xpack.security.enabled` setting is `true` on each node in
your cluster. If you are using basic or trial licenses, the default value is `false`.
For more information, see <<security-settings>>.

. If you plan to run {es} in a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 
140-2 enabled JVM, see <<fips-140-compliance>>. 

. <<configuring-tls,Configure Transport Layer Security (TLS/SSL) for internode-communication>>.
+
--
NOTE: This requirement applies to clusters with more than one node and to
clusters with a single node that listens on an external interface. Single-node
clusters that use a loopback interface do not have this requirement.  For more
information, see
<<encrypting-communications>>.

--

. If it is not already running, start {es}.

. Set the passwords for all built-in users.
+
--
The {es} {security-features} provide
<<built-in-users,built-in users>> to
help you get up and running. The +elasticsearch-setup-passwords+ command is the
simplest method to set the built-in users' passwords for the first time.

For example, you can run the command in an "interactive" mode, which prompts you
to enter new passwords for the built-in users:

[source,shell]
--------------------------------------------------
bin/elasticsearch-setup-passwords interactive
--------------------------------------------------

For more information about the command options, see <<setup-passwords>>.

IMPORTANT: The `elasticsearch-setup-passwords` command uses a transient bootstrap
password that is no longer valid after the command runs successfully. You cannot
run the `elasticsearch-setup-passwords` command a second time. Instead, you can
update passwords from the **Management > Users** UI in {kib} or use the security
user API.

--

. Choose which types of realms you want to use to authenticate users.
+
--
TIP: The types of authentication realms that you can enable varies according to
your subscription. For more information, see https://www.elastic.co/subscriptions.
 
--
** <<configuring-ad-realm,Active Directory realms>>
** <<file-realm,File realms>>
** <<kerberos-realm,Kerberos realms>>
** <<ldap-realm,LDAP realms>>
** <<native-realm,Native realms>>
** <<pki-realm,PKI realms>>
** <<saml-realm,SAML realms>>

. Set up roles and users to control access to {es}.
+
--
For example, to grant _John Doe_ full access to all indices that match
the pattern `events*` and enable them to create visualizations and dashboards
for those indices in {kib}, you could create an `events_admin` role
and assign the role to a new `johndoe` user.

[source,shell]
----------------------------------------------------------
curl -XPOST -u elastic 'localhost:9200/_security/role/events_admin' -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{
  "indices" : [
    {
      "names" : [ "events*" ],
      "privileges" : [ "all" ]
    },
    {
      "names" : [ ".kibana*" ],
      "privileges" : [ "manage", "read", "index" ]
    }
  ]
}'

curl -XPOST -u elastic 'localhost:9200/_security/user/johndoe' -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{
  "password" : "userpassword",
  "full_name" : "John Doe",
  "email" : "john.doe@anony.mous",
  "roles" : [ "events_admin" ]
}'
----------------------------------------------------------
// NOTCONSOLE
--

. [[enable-auditing]](Optional) Enable auditing to keep track of attempted and
successful interactions with your {es} cluster:
+
--
TIP: Audit logging is available with specific subscriptions. For more
information, see https://www.elastic.co/subscriptions.

.. Add the following setting to `elasticsearch.yml` on all nodes in your cluster:
+
[source,yaml]
----------------------------
xpack.security.audit.enabled: true
----------------------------
+
For more information, see <<auditing>> and <<auditing-settings>>. 

.. Restart {es}.

Events are logged to a dedicated `<clustername>_audit.json` file in
`ES_HOME/logs`, on each cluster node.
--

To walk through the configuration of {security-features} in {es}, {kib}, {ls}, and {metricbeat}, see <<security-getting-started>>.

include::authentication/configuring-active-directory-realm.asciidoc[]

include::reference/files.asciidoc[]
include::fips-140-compliance.asciidoc[]